Rotary Rays April 29, 2013
Notes taken by Rosemary George
Invocation Stephen Sears
Birthdays or Anniversaries- Don Fulkerson, Dave Harris 12 years in Rotary
Sick and Visiting – No report
50/50 winner was Don Stoddart who was paid $4.00 for the 4 of Harts, Ifhan Hudda and Jessica 12th Ann.
Sargent at Arms –
-Larry paid a happy buck for Melissa and Lyla saving him from going down stairs for lunch
-All members who went down stairs instead of to the Burtch room paid a dollar
-Dave Harris announced that Motor, Truck, and equipment are ready for the Dragon Boat Season
-Ron Fraser met the President and incoming President of the Sylvania Club our sister City in the USA
and invited them to join in our Dragon Boat Festival as an exchange . They also have a Youth orchestra, lead by a conductor from Beijing who will perform at fundraising events for sister cities.
-Chris Cunningham had a happy buck she is going on vacation starting in San Francisco
-Stephen Sears shared with the club t-shirts being sold by local high school students and the Salvation Army to bring awareness to the Trade Fair Labour issues in the world.
-Dave Harris was fined for arguing with the President.
-Robin Ferro was fined for handing out late tax receipts.
Reports:
Music Festival-Gary reminded everyone of the Festival of the Starts this Friday evening, and is still looking for two Rotarians to help
Peace dinner- Ron Fraser reported on the Peace dinner being held on May 29th there will be a Dinner at the Quality Inn 5:30, 6:30 dinner cost to be $30.00 This is a cluster event and Theme is “End Domestic Abuse” Tickets and posters are available.
Youth Exchange-Frances Announced that our inbound student this year is coming from Finland. Her name is Maria. She is well traveled. Her City is about 60,000 pop and known as part of an energy Cluster. She will arrive in August
Membership-Rick Shaheen reminded new members that he is hosting a Fireside Chat this evening.
Judith Cheung, Guest Speaker - Speaker was introduced by Rick Shaheen, Thanked by Hazel Powell
Our speaker today was Judith Cheung who has studied landscape, art and urban planning.
She is employed by Epcot Times that reports in 35 Countries in 21 Languages. The mission of this
Paper is to build bridges between the East and West. It is an independent paper to help with
information for business and immigrants. She noted that in the GTA the population has grown
from 500 plus Chinese folks to 1.2 million in 2013. The one child policy has had a great impact on immigration.
Her topic today is Chinese Culture, 5000 years of civilization. The base of this culture is harmony and is influenced by the philosophy of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. The Shen Yun theatre and dance group out of New York helps to promote the ancient customs and beliefs of China. They often perform at the Center in the Square in Kitchener. The Chinese are trying to have one language and that would be Mandarin. Team development and coordination form a bases for their approach.